Commissioning Agave Azul ... July - September

I visited the factory in Largo, Florida in June, just before our Catalina 470 was scheduled to ship.  This photo was taken at the final assembly stage ... the large holes drilled through the bow will house the thrusters.

A very cool shot, but an even warmer day – 98º and 98% humidity.

Agave Azul's arrival at Svensen's Boat Yard in Alameda, CA for the start of 8 weeks of commissioning; rigging, inverter/charger, water maker, high capacity bilge pump, navigation equipment, lightning protection system, Single Side Band radio, metal work for the stern rails and life raft cradle, bottom paint and, and, and ... 

The hull was sanded to provide a good surface for a coat of primer 

and two coats of bottom paint.

I always felt uncomfortable watching the yard drill holes in the hull.  The first photo is for the water maker intake and the second is for the water maker brine discharge.  Four more holes were drilled for the copper lightning protection plate and one more for the bilge pump discharge.

Water maker intake.

Brine discharge.

As soon as the bottom paint dried, she went into the water for the first time.

I was really pleased to be on hand to observe and participate in rigging the mast.  

I always wondered how all those components went together.

You will see lots of photos of Brian Teobald, Vessel Electric.

Brian handled all electric installations and calibration on Agave Azul.

TV antenna, lightning rod, LopoLight tricolor and wind vane.

Now, this was scary to watch!

In-boom furler mandrel.

Construction zone for building a shelf for the water maker.

Spectra Water Maker under the forward berth.

We spent the better part of a sunny day at the yard applying our boat lettering.

Kathryn peeling off the cove stripe tape.

The finished product!

Electronics installations took the most time.  As you can see, the boat was a construction zone for most of the time it was at the yard.

Yes, I labeled them all so I'll know what they all connect to.

Brian drilling holes for the GPS and AIS antennas.

The team at Svendsen's Metalworks did a great job fabricating solid stern rails and the cradle for the life raft.

Life raft cradle before polishing.

Welding and polishing

Almost finished, but the weight of the raft made the long stern rail unstable.  

The Metalworks team added a brace just forward of the foot block.

The sails were almost the last item installed.  Glen Hansen completed the final installation and rig tuning.

Drilling more holes in the boat.

Attaching the mainsail to the boom mandrel.

Full-length battens for great sail shape.

Our first sea trial was after 5 weeks of commissioning.

Everything works!